Activities in the 2008 Legislative Session are starting to move forward with the House expected to approve a proposed budget this week that will probably incorporate some additional money from other sources such as an increase in the cigarette tax.  KFIA continues to work hard and encourages members to contact their legislators to push for funding of the state Nurseries that provide seedlings for planting marginal lands into forest throughout the state.

Listed below are some important bills that affect the entire wood products industry in Kentucky.  KFIA is working to make sure that if these bills move forward they will not have a bad affect on the wood industry and membership.  These bills have all been introduced due to the increased concerns over timber theft.

House Bill 489 – Introduced February 11 – Creates a new section of KRS Chapter 364 to require contracts for sale of timber and specify contents, require notice to neighbors of timber cutting; require marking of cut timber prior to removal from property; specify duties of the Division of Forestry with regard to timber sales and theft; require a timber buyer to provide an accurate manifest of cut timber transported from the property; grant the Attorney General, Commonwealth's attorneys, and county attorneys jurisdiction in timber theft and timber damage cases; provide whistle blower protection to persons who report timber crimes; amend KRS 364.110 relating to defacing timber brand to add a provision relating to timber branded pursuant to this act; amend KRS 364.120 to update a section reference, amend KRS 364.990 relating to penalties to provide penalties for violation of new sections of this act; amend KRS 514.010 specifically include timber and trees as property which may be the subject of theft and provide specific measures of restitution including reimbursement of costs of investigation and prosecution.   Assigned to the House Natural Resources Committee.

House Bill 727 – Introduced March 3 - This is a different version of House Bill 489 that has had the log branding and the Forest Service contract requirements removed.  The bill still has most of the other requirements as the original House Bill 489 and would require a written timber sale contract and lists a number of things that would need to be contained in the contract.  Would also require filing fees and notification to the Division of Forestry and County Clerk’s office before harvesting and supplying GPS Coordinates for the harvested property and designating the tree to be cut.  Recently reassigned to the House Judiciary Committee.

Both of these bills would put a huge regulatory burden on both landowners and loggers and are opposed by KFIA.   House Bill 489 will not get a hearing but House Bill 727 may be heard at some point.  These Bills are highly regulatory in nature and have little affect on timber theft issues.   

Senate Bill 171 – Introduced February 15 & House Bill 6   – Are the same basic bills filed in both the Senate and the House that relate to amending the definition for timber theft offenses to create a definition for "timber"; amend KRS 514.030 relating to theft by unlawful taking to penalize theft of timber (regardless of the value of the timber) as a Class D felony; and to penalize possession of stolen timber (regardless of the value of the timber) as a Class D felony; amend KRS 514.130 relating to seizure and forfeiture of property used in theft offenses to add "heavy equipment." 

KFIA has concerns with this bill and the current language that could cause problems and it is not clear that this will address the problem of not pursuing the cases through criminal prosecution.  The legislation is assigned to the Senate Judiciary Committee and the House Judiciary committees.

KFIA will keep membership updated on changes and any movement of these Bills.  Our major concerns with these bills are that they do not address the current problem with timber theft that revolves primarily around a lack of enforcement of current laws on the books.

The major bills that are being followed by KFIA are listed in the members only section of the KFIA website under 2008 Legislation Session.  The progress of the bills can be tracked closely and is updated on a regular basis.  To access the member’s only section, enter ID # 5369 and “password” for the password.